Bobby Meets Carrie
Bobby Goren sat alone that night waiting for sleep to overtake him. Wanting mindless, check your brain at the door TV for a change he left the station on Stephen King's "Carrie." Soon the frames of the film enveloped his dreams as delta sleep turned into REM.
He was in junior high again, alone in the shower after gym class. He was always alone, but he didn't know if it bothered him or not. It would turn out to be a lifetime quest. As he cleaned himself all over he looked down: he was not so alone. Little Bobby made an appearance. What was happenning to him? He had that one stray thought about the new girl, Alex Eames, and the next he knew that part of him he never dared touch except to clean was hard as a rock.
He ran into the locker room. The other boys stood, pointing and laughing at him. One of them passed him a schoolbook and a raincoat. The others threw towels and made motions with their hands. One of them shoved April, the shy fat girl from the local crazy atheist family at him. She was completely horrified.
As was he.
Finally as if the heavens opened up a tough freshman by the name of Mike Logan stepped forward. "What's going on?" he bellowed. Quickly assessing the situation he took Bobby aside, behind the lockers after covering him up.
"Don't you know? What happens to guys?" he said. Bobby shook his head. For all his intellect when it came to girls and sex he knew nothing practical.
As Logan explained it all in frank and lurid detail Bobby's face reddened. This is what he had to look forward to? Unexpected embarrassment with or without a girl, a constant battle between him and IT, his friend and tormentor all at once? Waking up to sticky bedsheets right before his mother got him up for breakfast?
Oh God, let me be a man right now and get it over with.
Logan patted him on the back. "Let's get ready for class. They'll forget all about it soon enough."
He woke up the next morning, the dream so vivid he needed a minute to make sure it wasn't real. The sheets were dry. Good.
Monday morning came and he gave Logan a smile that lasted a little longer than usual, one with a hint of gratitude that surprised the other hunky detective. At his desk he kept his head down, making minimal eye contact with Eames, but he was extra nice to Logan all week.